The
Planty
ring of public gardens surrounds Krakow's entire
Old Town historic district since 1822.

Krakow’s Varied Parks

The city of
Krakow boasts forty two public parks, including the
1020-acre Las Wolski forest on the range of hills that adjoin the
downtown area from the west. Also, there are 334 official city
greens. They all total 631 hectares.

Most popular parks of Krakow

Visitors cannot miss the
Planty
ring of about 30 gardens since it encircles the
Krakow Old Town central historic district. Its leafy alleys and
flowerbeds replaced Krakow’s once awesome
city walls in the 1820s. At the same time the natives
prefer the 22-hectare downtown Park Jordana (near the main
hall of the
National Museum in Krakow) with its recreational facilities from a
paddling pond to playgrounds to volleyball and basketball courts. As
the park borders on the plethora of dorms alongside three major
campuses and the central university library, no wonder it teems with
students besides families, kids and mothers with babies. The Park
Jordana
adjoins also grounds of the Wisla Club, Krakow’s biggest
sports
organization, with its main stadium, public swimming pools, and hall
that seats 1,500. Moreover, the huge
Blonia
commonstretches the full
length of both the parkland and the sports grounds. The 120-acre
meadow amid bustling downtown Krakow has the legal status of a
national heritage. The everyday refuge of joggers, strollers, dog
owners, sunbathers, etc.–and an occasional cow–proves ideal for
open-air events when necessary, be it a concert, a parade, or a
papal mass heard by millions.

Krakow’s
botanical garden
at 27 Kopernika street was set up in 1779 and nowadays boasts some
5,000 plants, both exotic and native. Situated in the city’s
downtown, it appears an oasis for traffic-weary residents.

Krakow contains also a number of
wildlife
preserves within the city limits, established mostly for the
protection of endangered flora species.

Morskie Oko lake is a must-see of
the Tatra National Park 120 kilometers south of Krakow.

With its mere 21.5 sq. km
it may be the smallest of Poland’s twenty national parks,
but the Ojcow National Park ranks among the most attractive
recreational areas in Europe, and it is just a 15 minutes’
drive–i.e. 24 km–northwest of Krakow.